Before I review either band I really must talk about the venue choice. At first when buying the tickets I thought that it was a little bizarre. While it was obviously going to be in one of the smaller rooms upstairs, I still thought it was bizarre for a small label to put on a gig in a venue like this and run the risk of things being broken etc. But on second thoughts I think that it shows such a great faith that Moshi Moshi have in the fans of their label that they know them to be conscientious music lovers who are not attending gigs to get wasted and wreck some shit, but to appreciate new and exciting music. Top work and the label DJs who played songs before, in between and after the bands really helped show why Moshi Moshi have been and will inevitably continue to be incredible talent scouts and one of the best UK labels.
SLOW CLUB
I fucking love Slow Club. Not the best way to start a review but I think that it sums up my opinion both succinctly and entirely, well enough in fact for me to add nothing else and I'd feel as though I'd expressed myself adequately. They are lush and pretty and simple and other words like that. Watching them makes me feel light, as though my bone marrow has been replaced by tiny helium balloons. There is also something inherently English about their music and this makes The Royal Albert Hall seem as perfect a venue for them as a tea shop.
They have troubles tonight though. Their equipment had been doused in coffee on the way down (this was explained to us in an anecdote told to us between songs) and this caused Charles' lead to take issue with his guitar on occasion, Rebecca had a cold, and then, during their penultimate song, Charles managed to break a string which meant that they had no option but to play their final song acoustically, without microphones or percussion. But instead of letting these issues hold them back they embraced them, and the final song was one of the best of the set. Another stand-out song in their set for me was new song Trophy Room. This song managed to sound really big and had me thinking of the old Johnny Cash and June Carter duets.
Slow Club's set was far too short for me. This worked for them what with the problems that they had faced, but I was left wanting far more. Acoustic music seems to currently be either mainstream tat (Newton Faulkner), political (Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly) or else whimsical tales of every day life (Sam Isaac), but Slow Club don't really fit into any of those. They instead manage to sound refreshing, heart-crushing and uplifting throughout their set and you're left with your heart feeling bruised and your lungs needing breathe. They remind me of that feeling when you see someone on a passing train and fall in love with their face but then they're gone before love could ever let you down. Slow Club are like that feeling, love without disappointment.
http://www.myspace.com/slowclub
HOT CLUB DE PARIS
Hot Club De Paris are a three-piece from Liverpool who sit alongside Slow Club on my list of 'Must Hear Albums' of 2008. Managing to sound like a constantly crashing sea of sound, they manage to muster incredibly complex songs and then play them at twice the pace of the recorded version when playing live. I first saw Hot Club when they played in Leeds with Dartz! and you can see the similarities between the bands. Both play spiky indie music which is far more technical than it might seem, but Hot Club manage to push the technical elements far further and quite often throughout their set I'm dumbfounded by quite how good this band are as musicians.
Hot Club decide to take this opportunity to play a set that is littered with songs from the forthcoming album, using the old songs just to keep people interested here and there. I don't think that I'd have lost interest though; the new songs are extremely promising. While it would appear that they have thankfully kept the playfully humourous song titles - I Wasn't Being Heartless When I Said That Your Favourite Song Lacked Heart is a prime example of this - they seem to have matured with their song structures and the strength of the playing seems far superior to anything on Drop It 'Til It Pops.
The between song banter is, as always, hilarious. Topics covered included discussing how they were big fans of the Chicago Bulls of baseball, how Bruce Springsteen adds an extra inch to his stage height and an amusing anecdote about how The Beat are "total arseholes, the type of people who would skank on your grave." Hot Club De Paris are set to return this year and once again deliver an album that should make people pay attention.
On the back of this gig I wouldn't mind joining either band's club.
http://www.myspace.com/hotclubdeparis
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